A successful debut

NALPA had a successful debut at February’s Washington Conference. Given a highly visible and convenient location, NALPA members and national staff had nonstop opportunities to talk with members and nonmembers. Executive Director Pat Rourk and American Legion staff member Holly Soria joined me at the table each day as their schedules allowed. In addition to generating interest in NALPA, we signed up participants for the Legion’s "Thunderclap" campaign.

We met both goals overwhelmingly.

Interest ran extremely high in our "new era" of NALPA. We showed off our vision for the future, accompanied by attractive signage, promotion of our new logo and mission. Visitors shared in our enthusiasm and scooped up the first edition of the newly formatted newsletter. Pat’s excellent organizational skills allowed us to collect renewals and new members on the spot.

NALPA also provided a useful presentation to the general session Tuesday. Area 3 Vice President Mark Sutton expounded on how social media can support and spread information rapidly on visits to Capitol Hill. Mark’s on-point message, accompanied by a big screen slide displaying our logo, gave NALPA recognition as a "go to" resource.

Looking ahead:

At this summer’s national convention, we will revisit our Constitution and Bylaws. Members at last year’s annual meeting had many concerns over our Constitution and Bylaws. We have made arrangements to hold a special pre-meeting on just those topics. Please gather your thoughts and make an effort to attend. I would greatly appreciate members forwarding ahead of time their concerns to Pat who will share with me. Should you be unable to attend, we will be armed with your concerns. This meeting will help set us on a course for concrete proposals next year.

My next challenge:

We need all department adjutants to be on board with NALPA by making sure their departments are members. This also applies to Auxiliaries and SALs, too. Contact yours today. Share information on our "new era" and how we can play an important role in promoting The American Legion Family. I will give a President’s Award for every new department signed up (that is the department, not a chairman).

Participate:

Have you entered a "Tag Line" for our new logo? Have you thought about a "tip or trick" to offer? Email your ideas and submissions to Pat, prourk@twcny.rr.com.